Day of the Cicada

 

 

  I don’t know what the overlap is between sports fans and fans of this blog, but apparently some Cleveland fans were so happy with the season finale of Basketball over the weekend that some people got Monday off work. One such person was my friend, Alyssa, who invited me along for an afternoon of berry picking and wine tasting. The best part? Every moment of the rural excursion was juxtaposed with the soothing sounds of the majestic cicada. But, the wonder of these creatures was not limited to the auditory. They clung to almost every surface, littered the ground, flew straight at the moving car window, and occasionally tried give us their insect-cuddles . We must savor these moments, as it will be 17 years before we are graced with their magnificence once again.

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Finally Upgraded My Body

After roughly four years of service from my Nikon D80, I’ve finally upgraded to a new D7200. The specifications completely blow my previous body out of the water. I’ve mostly been messing around with it so far.

The D7200 is phenomenal in low light. I took it downtown and shot entirely without a flash. Where the D80’s ISO would become too grainy to be of any real use after about 800, but the newer model still looks solid well beyond 6400.

And that’s just scratching the surface of what this thing can do. Stay tuned for more. If you have anything you would want to see coming up, let me know in the comments below.

Back on the Path

Return of the Snow Birds

My office at the house has a great view of the yard. So, it’s understandable when I get distracted by the wildlife and spend about forty minutes just shooting birds with my telephoto.

The Snow Birds

Maxine diligently watches the windows to let me know when the birds perch in the back yard. 

2014

2014 turned out to be kind of a big year for me. I left my temp job to freelance full time, had my work published in a book,  got married, moved into a house, and just last week I became a godfather.

Those are just the bigger events of my life from this last year. For all of the smaller moments and memories, I look back through the photos I’ve taken this year. That’s where all the tiger hunts, bike rides, fashion shows, travel, events, and quiet afternoons reside.

As summer arrives, Max must defend the apartment from ever-fiercer insects.

This has to be my favorite photo of the day.

This shot was a bit of an accident. He was just helping me test the lights, and we got this. I dig it though.

(Left to right) Me, Phil, Laura, and Joe,

I found a split tree while were hiking and wanted to emphasize the textures in post using high contrast black and white.

I actually tried to get all artisitc and shoot this at a slow shutter speed to get the motion of the water. The ducks stayed as still as one could hope.

Fezzes are cool.

 This is what I love to do more than anything,  the love and support of those closeto me, as well as everyone I’ve met through the site, is what lets me keep doing it. I can’t say for sure where I’ll go in 2015, but I have some big plans in the works. So, keep an eye on the site, and we’ll go together.

First Walk Through the Snow

Do you see what I do for you? I had enough house repair and photo work to do that I could have easily stayed home, shrouded in the warm embrace  of my Spider-Man hoodie. But, no. I decided that I needed to brave the elements so that I could bring all of you photos from the first snowfall of the season.

Exploring by the Lake

Even with all the GoPro photos I’ve been posting from my bike rides, I’ll still stop if I see something I want to shoot with my cell. If any of the locations look familiar, I shot these the same day I took the photos I posted yesterday. I the editing on a couple of these looks extreme, it’s because I’m messing around with some more advanced Lightroom tools. Please, let me know if I’ve gone too far with these.

GoPro Down The Towpath

I forgot to charge my GoPro for my bike ride yesterday. But, I managed to snag a few stills before the battery died.

The Towpath

Nice days are numbered! Already, the sun and cloudless skies belie the dropping temperatures! I must bike and shoot until the paths freeze over.